A Reading Culture, Along With Benefits

The World Is Ours for The Making

In today’s world, many people do not read books or materials for the pleasure of it. They involve themselves in reading in order to acquire some necessary ideas or information that may be needed somewhere, for instance in providing answers to scholarly tests, course work or for getting information required while doing research work. A culture of reading is a personal and highly subjective activity, not a competition. I am a lover of books.

I developed the desire of reading since when I was a little child. I did not read to understand the context per se, but just to find the pleasure of playing with words. I could find any material that would provide some text for reading and go right ahead into reading it. The newspapers that my dad brought home from work and the writings on the wrapping papers of the items that my mother would bring home from shopping were my major sources of reading materials.

As I proceeded with my schooling and began to understand more clearly, my love for books grew even much stronger. I started having visualizations of owning a book store where I could access my books at any time of my convenience. As I grew old and became more mature, my reading prowess also changed, such that I could even have choices of my reading practice and actually have options.

For instance, I could start considering why I want to read a book. I could establish a connection with my reading and feel when I have a purposeful read. I also started identifying what I want to read, such that I could choose to read between the different genres, either poetry or fiction or even entertainment books or articles.

In Our Pursuit Of Greatness, We Need To Seek Fresh Knowledge Through Learning

When I joined the institution of higher learning, I pursued a language and literature culture as a career. My lecturer was quick to notice my love for books, and he often supported me to reach my potential by providing me with various reading materials such as journals and newsletters. He could inspire my reading by offering me with opportunities of reading speeches during conferences and seminars, a practice that I loved and embraced.

As time went by, my confidence to read various articles in public grew and my public speaking skills improved in a big way. I never could have imagined that I could ever gather the kind of confidence that I have gained today. Reading made me realize that I possessed a certain kind character that I never thought I had; motivating people and inspiring them through reading to them.

Reading Enlightens Us to Realize our Identity

Our society today is filled with people who have various needs that only require a willing person who is ready to paint a positive picture to an otherwise ugly situation that they could be facing. For instance, the sick people in hospital beds, children, inmates and the elderly people in our communities often need some inspiration from good willing people.

I sought to identify such individuals and groups of people whom I can inspire and motivate through reading. I aligned my schedule to target the inmates in prison and those children who live in rehabilitation centers and children homes. I would create time during weekends especially on Sundays to visit the nearby prison and collaborate with the wardens for them to offer me an opportunity to read inspiration books to prisoners.

At first I thought it was a bizarre idea to read to such a group of people, but after a series of meetings with them, I realized that they had developed the need to listen and learn. In their quest for knowledge, they became comfortable to freely question and compliment me when a certain aspect in the book touched their lives, though in different ways according to different people.

I realized that most of them never had the chance to be informed in a closely formal way about various ideals, character development and most of all, about the importance of obeying the rule of the law. I could feel a connection between me and them as they attentively listened to my reading. Most of them that were serving short sentences would promise to lead a normal, dignified and crime free life once they got out of prison. This encouraged me to do more reading sessions to them to ensure that I could change the mindsets of at least a few of them.

The children on the other hand are normally curious to learn, and with the right information is fed to them, they grow to become strong people in the society, no matter their current predicaments such as living with the feeling of neglect, dissociation from families or abandonment.

I have personally experienced the power of reading throughout my life and I would encourage most of us to take a moment to read a book, and you will be amazed at how much you may develop the desire to have more reading. Apart from the pleasure you may derive from reading, it also informs, educates and sharpens your mind.